Skip to the page
Year 10 · ICT · Autumn 2 · Networks; layout and styles

Practical: styles and house style

PracticalPresent ▶

What this lesson covers

14.1 What styles are and what they control

Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 · Topic 14: Styles

14.2 Create, modify and apply styles

Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 · Topic 14: Styles

14.3 Corporate house style

Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 · Topic 14: Styles

You will learn to

  • Explain what a style is and why it saves time.
  • Create and modify styles for headings, body text and captions.
  • Apply a corporate house style across a document and a presentation.
  • Explain why a consistent house style matters to an organisation.

Success criteria

  • I can tell serif and sans-serif fonts apart.
  • I can change one style and see all the text that uses it update.
  • I can check my work against the style specification, line by line.
The syllabus points for these sections
  • Explain what a style is and why it saves time.
  • Tell serif and sans-serif fonts apart.
  • List the settings a style can hold.
  • Read a style specification from an exam task.
  • Create a new style with given settings.
  • Modify an existing style so all text using it updates.
  • Apply styles to headings, body text and lists.
  • Give screenshot evidence of style settings.
  • Explain what a corporate house style is.
  • Explain why organisations use a house style.
  • Apply a house style to a document.
  • Explain why consistency matters.

Key words

Say each word, then read what it means. Every one is in the glossary too.

Style
A named, saved set of formatting settings applied in one click.
Corporate house style
The rules an organisation uses so all its documents look the same.
Style guide
A document that sets out an organisation's house style rules.
Font face
The design of the letters, such as a serif or sans-serif font.
Serif font
A font with small strokes at the ends of the letters.
Sans-serif font
A font with no small strokes at the ends of the letters.
Point size
A measure of text height; 72 points is about one inch.
Enhancement
Emphasis added to text: bold, italic or underline.
Alignment
Where text lines up: left, right, centre or fully justified.
Spacing before/after
Extra space above or below a paragraph, measured in points.
Line spacing
The gap between lines inside a paragraph, such as single or double.
Bullet
A symbol placed before each item in a list.
Direct formatting
Formatting applied to selected text by hand, not through a style.
Template
A starting file that already holds the styles and layout of a house style.
Consistency
The same kind of text always having the same formatting.

The explanation

Read it here, or open the study page below to go one step at a time with things to try.

14.1 What styles are and what they control

A style is a saved recipe for formatting

A style is a named set of formatting settings. For example, the style Heading might mean: sans-serif font, 18 point, bold, centred, 12 points of space after.

You apply the style to text in one click. All the settings are applied together.

If you later change the style, every piece of text using it changes too.

e.g.Example
A school newsletter has 12 headings. Without styles, you format each one by hand: 12 × 5 settings = 60 changes. With a style, you define it once and click 12 times. To change the colour later, you edit the style once.
?Why?

Styles save time and stop small differences creeping in. Every heading matches because they all come from the same recipe.

Serif and sans-serif fonts

A font (font face) is the design of the letters.

A serif font has small strokes, called serifs, at the ends of the letters. Times New Roman is an example.

A sans-serif font has no serifs. "Sans" is French for "without". Arial is an example.

Exam tasks often say "a sans-serif font" or "a serif font" instead of naming one. Any font of that type earns the mark.

TypeLookOften used for
SerifSmall feet and tails on lettersPrinted books, formal letters
Sans-serifPlain, clean strokesScreens, headings, signs, many dyslexia-friendly materials
!Watch out

Do not pick a decorative or handwriting font when the task says serif or sans-serif. Choose a plain, common font of the right type so there is no doubt.

What a style can control

Cambridge lists these settings: font face, font size, colour, alignment, bold, underline, italic, spacing before and after paragraphs, line spacing, and bullets.

Point size measures text height. 72 points is about one inch (2.54 cm). Body text is usually 10 to 12 points.

Spacing before and after adds space above or below a paragraph. It is measured in points. Line spacing sets the gap between lines inside a paragraph, such as single or 1.5.

SettingExample value
Font faceSans-serif
Size11 points
ColourBlack
AlignmentFully justified
EmphasisNone (not bold, not italic)
Spacing0 pt before, 6 pt after
Line spacingSingle
?Why?

Spacing set inside a style is always the same size. Pressing Enter twice to make a gap gives uneven gaps when text moves.

Reading the style table in a task

Cambridge often gives a table of styles to create, with columns such as Style name, Font, Size, Alignment, Enhancement and Spacing.

Work across one row at a time. Tick each setting on the question paper as you set it.

Enhancement means emphasis: bold, italic or underline. "None" means switch them all off.

e.g.Example
Task row: Style name: J26-Head | Font: sans-serif | Size: 20 | Alignment: centre | Enhancement: bold | Spacing after: 12 pt You create a style called exactly J26-Head with all six settings.
!Watch out

Style names must match exactly, including capitals and hyphens. A style called j26 head does not earn the naming mark, and the examiner may not find it in your screenshot.

14.2 Create, modify and apply styles

Create a new style

In most word processors, open the styles list and choose new style. Type the exact name.

Base it on the default text style, then set the font, size, colour, alignment, enhancement and spacing from the task.

If the task says "based on" another style, choose that one. If it says the next paragraph should use Body, set that too.

e.g.Example
Task: Create a style called Body with a serif font, 11 point, left aligned, single line spacing, 6 points after. New style → name: Body → font: a serif font → size 11 → align left → line spacing single → spacing after 6 pt → OK.
!Watch out

Many candidates format the text directly and forget to save it as a style. The text looks right, but there is no style to show in a screenshot, so the style marks are lost.

Modify an existing style

To modify a style, open its settings and change them. Every paragraph using that style updates automatically.

A typical task: "Modify the Heading style so that it is right aligned and italic."

Do not select every heading and change it by hand. That changes the text but not the style.

?Why?

Modifying the style is what makes a change consistent across a 30-page report. You change one place, not 30.

!Watch out

If one heading does not update, it had direct formatting on top of the style. Clear the direct formatting, then reapply the style.

Apply styles to the right text

Click in a paragraph and choose the style. The whole paragraph takes the style.

Tasks say which text gets which style: "Apply the Title style to the first line. Apply the Subhead style to all subheadings. Apply the Body style to all other text."

"All other text" includes text in lists and text you imported. Check nothing is left in the default style.

!Watch out

The most common error: one paragraph is missed, often the last one or an imported one. It stays in the default font and the consistency mark is lost. Scroll through the whole document after applying.

Bullets inside a style

A bulleted list puts a symbol, such as a dot or a square, before each item. A style can include the bullet, its shape and its indent.

A task may say: "Create a style called List with a square bullet, indented 1 cm, 0 pt spacing after."

Apply it to every list item. All items must have the same bullet and indent.

e.g.Example
Bike hire includes: ■ helmet ■ lock ■ city map Each item uses the List style: same bullet, same indent, no gap between items.
!Watch out

A last list item with extra space after it, or a different bullet, shows inconsistent formatting.

Evidence and checks

Tasks often ask for a screenshot of a style's settings. Open the modify style dialogue so the name, font, size, alignment and spacing are all visible, then take the screenshot.

Paste the screenshot into your evidence document under your name and candidate details.

Before printing, scroll through: every heading the same, every body paragraph the same, every list the same.

!Watch out

How candidates lose marks: style name typed differently from the task; settings applied directly, not saved in the style; one paragraph missed; spacing created with blank lines instead of spacing after; screenshot cropped so a setting is hidden.

14.3 Corporate house style

What a house style is

A corporate house style is a set of rules an organisation uses for all its documents. It covers fonts, colours, logo position, sizes, spacing and layout.

It is usually written down in a style guide. Staff follow it for letters, slides, reports, adverts and web pages.

In the software, a house style is built from a set of styles and a template.

e.g.Example
A Madrid language school's house style: Logo top right, 3 cm wide. Headings: sans-serif, 16 pt, bold, school blue. Body: serif, 11 pt, black, 6 pt after. Footer: school address, centred, 8 pt.
?Why?

When every document follows the same rules, people recognise the organisation at a glance, even before they read the name.

Why organisations use one

Brand recognition. Customers recognise the organisation from the look of its documents.

Professional image. Matching documents look organised and trustworthy.

Consistency. Documents written by different staff look the same.

Saves time. Staff do not decide formatting each time. They use the template and styles.

?Why?

Paper 1 often asks you to explain the purpose of a house style. Each reason with a short explanation is usually one mark.

!Watch out

"It looks nice" earns nothing. Say what it achieves: recognition, consistency, professional image, or time saved.

Apply a house style

Try the toy. It shows a messy document with mixed fonts, sizes and spacing.

Tap a paragraph, then tap the style it should have: Heading, Subheading, Body text or Bullet. Watch the checklist turn green as the document becomes consistent.

Notice how many separate changes one style replaces.

?Why?

Doing the change yourself shows why styles beat hand formatting: one rule, applied everywhere, gives the same result every time.

There is something to try for this step in the IGCSE library.

Consistency is what the examiner checks

Examiners look for the same font, size, spacing and alignment everywhere the same kind of text appears.

They check spacing between paragraphs, the gap after headings, and that bullets match.

Consistency matters more than any one choice. A document that is consistently 11 pt is better than one with a mix of 11 pt and 12 pt.

!Watch out

Inconsistent spacing is the single most common style error. Use spacing before and after in the style, never extra blank lines, and turn on formatting marks to check.

Study it

Open the study page and go one step at a time.

ICT topic 4

Networks and the effects of using them

Step by step, with exam questions and a quiz.

ICT topic 13

Layout

Step by step, with exam questions and a quiz.

ICT topic 14

Styles

Step by step, with exam questions and a quiz.

ICT topic 11

File management

Step by step, with exam questions and a quiz.

Topic 16 · Year 8

The web

A web page is text written in HTML (what's on the page), styled with CSS (how it looks), sometimes with JavaScript (what it does). Your browser fetches it using a URL.

Check yourself

One question at a time. The reason shows after each answer.

Saved on this device.